Tuning
by Mar Komi
Summary: Rodney and Jennifer have a little relationship crisis. And then a band of rogue Genii decide to make an appearence. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Don't own them. I only play with them for non-profitable amusement.

**Characters: **McKay and Keller, Zelenka's along for the ride. The others make appearences too.

**A/N: **This story is set in a fictional 6th season with Atlantis back in the Pegasus galaxy. It follows my other stories "Our Great Divide" and "Underneath", and takes place about two months after the latter. Except for a few minor details this story will still make sense even if you haven't read the others.

I guess I'll have to thank Brandy and her song "Piano Man" for the inspiration for this one.

* * *

**Tuning**

**Part 1**

The explosion could be heard and felt throughout the entire Main Tower. In the control room it made the crystals in the panels clink and jingle. In the mess hall the tables vibrated, and a few plates in the kitchen went crashing to the floor. Outside Auxiliary Lab 4 it made a deafening bang, and the few witnesses to the incident covered their ears as they wide-eyed watched something rocket through the closed lab doors, fly across the hallway and into the Reading Library on the other side, leaving a sooty hole in both doors. Then the lab doors opened and Drs. Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka emerged.

"I told you it would explode," Zelenka said.

"You said no such thing," Rodney snapped back. "Now, where did it go?" He looked around and noticed all the shocked people in the hallway staring back at him. "Nothing to worry about," he told them cheerfully, and some of the people smiled weakly at him. Others mumbled a little and shook their heads, but all of them went on with their business, leaving the two scientists alone.

"I hope no one got hurt," Zelenka said, looking around.

Rodney spotted the hole in the library door. "Ah, see?" he said to Zelenka. "It went into the library. No one ever goes in there."

Just then a loud yell emitted from inside the library and the doors opened, revealing an extremely angry-looking woman holding a smoking piece of an Ancient device at the end of a broom. "Is this yours?" she barked, scowling at both of them through her horn-rimmed glasses.

Rodney just stared back. It was a rather short, curvy woman. Her waist-long flaming red hair was combed back in a ponytail at the top of her head. Both her ears were heavily pierced and she wore large, wooden earrings that made clunking sounds as she shook her head. "What's the matter with you?" she said. "I asked you a question. Is this… _thing_ that almost hit me in the head and ruined several good books, _yours_?"

She spoke with a weird-sounding accent that Rodney couldn't place. "Eh, yes," he finally answered.

"We're very sorry," Zelenka added. "Did we hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she replied curtly and dropped the device to the floor.

"Careful with that!" Rodney exclaimed, while in the back of his head he tried desperately to remember where he'd seen this woman before. There was something vaguely familiar about her. _One would think that I'd remember a woman looking like a cross between a librarian and a goth, _he thought to himself. He looked at Zelenka to see if there was any help in that, only to find Radek staring at the woman with a gleam in his eye that Rodney could not remember having seen before. He frowned. Was that _fascination_ on the Czech's face?

"Oh, you care about your little toy?" the woman barked. "What about me?"

"What's going on here?" Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard's voice rang out as he came around the corner together with Dr. Nina Dahl, his latest flame. Then he spotted the holes in the doors. "Did you do this?" he asked Rodney.

"Well…"

"Yes!" the redhead shot in. "He almost killed me. And he ruined my library!"

Rodney defended himself in the way he knew best; with aggression. "_Your _library? Do you know who you're talking to?"

The woman turned her head back at him in a sudden motion. "Who _you _are?" she said in a voice laden with sarcasm. "I know the two of you. Drs. Zelenka and McKay. Known around the base as Pinky and The Brain."

Rodney stared at her. This girl certainly had some nerve. "No one calls us that!" he said.

Sheppard coughed. "Well, actually they do."

"_We _do," Dahl corrected him.

Rodney's mouth fell open for a few seconds, but he quickly straightened himself. "Of all disrespectful…" He stopped without finishing the sentence, and instead he turned to face Zelenka, pointing at himself. "_I'm_ The Brain." Radek just rolled his eyes and said nothing.

Dahl was looking at the redhead. "You okay, Inge?" she asked.

The other woman sighed. "I'm fine. But several books went up in smoke."

"Any good ones?" Sheppard asked. The tone in his voice clearly gave away that he found this situation nothing but amusing.

"Among others, your copy of _War and Peace_, sir."

"Shame," the colonel replied, but didn't really sound like he meant it. "But I probably wouldn't have finished it anyway. That's why I put it in the library."

"Shame indeed," the redhead said. "It's a good book. Not that any of you undistinguished baboons have ever bothered to give it a try." She and Rodney exchanged chilling glances.

"I've read it," Zelenka suddenly said. "Five times. In three different languages."

The woman's face softened a little bit. "Is that so?"

Rodney turned towards Radek. What the hell was the man doing? But the Czech just looked back at the library-goth as if he couldn't take his eyes off her, and Rodney suddenly felt the urge to throw up.

The woman threw her ponytail over her shoulder. "Well, _not_ nice to meet you, Dr. McKay," she said sourly. Rodney wanted to answer, but somehow he suddenly couldn't come up with anything to say, and the redhead turned and started to walk away.

"See you around, Inge," Dahl said as she passed her.

"_Idioter,_" the redhead replied and turned the corner and went out of sight.

"Who was _that_?" Rodney demanded, now that he finally managed to find the words again.

"That's Dr. Sørensen," Dahl answered. "Inge Sørensen. She's with Linguistics."

"Don't you remember her?" Sheppard added. "She's the one who sings in the mess hall on occasion."

Of course, Rodney thought. That's why her face had seemed familiar. The glasses had just made her difficult to recognize. "She had a mouth!" was all he said out loud.

Dahl just grinned. "Well, you did ruin her library. She's very sensitive about that."

"It's not _her _library."

"Might as well be. She spends more time there than in her office."

"So, someone's finally using the library now," Sheppard said. "That's good."

"Inge Sørensen," Zelenka mumbled to himself as if he was memorizing the name.

Rodney turned to glare at him. "What's with _you?_"

"Nothing," the Czech quickly said.

Rodney shook his head and looked at the lunchbox-sized Ancient device still lying on the floor. He carefully checked if it was cool enough, and then picked it up.

Radek looked at it, too. "It's ruined," he declared.

"I wouldn't say that," Rodney countered. "At least not yet. Now I'm gonna go get some lunch."

He started walking towards the mess hall, carrying the device with him, and Zelenka, Sheppard and Dahl all followed. Rodney was still a little infuriated. It was not _his_ fault that unstable Ancient devices blew up now and then. _Pinky and The Brain, _he angrily thought. These people… He saved their sorry lives on almost a weekly basis, and this was how they thanked him?

He entered the mess hall, and the first thing he saw was the grand piano that he was certain had not been there before. He stopped, as only a piano could divert his attention away from the food. Behind him he heard Nina Dahl whistle. "Wow," she said.

"Arrived this morning," Sheppard said. "To Mr. Woolsey's delight."

The aforementioned expedition leader was standing next to the piano and did indeed look delighted. Rodney knew for a fact that he had asked the SGC for a piano almost as soon as he'd taken command of Atlantis over a year ago, and he had often wondered why the normally strict commander found a musical instrument and a mahogany table to be necessities. His arguments, as Rodney vaguely recalled them (he hadn't paid much attention), were something about how music was good for the morale.

Rodney curiously approached the piano and Woolsey looked up at him. "A beauty, isn't it?" he said, looking extremely satisfied.

"Quite nice," Rodney answered, trying not to sound too interested.

Woolsey brushed some invisible dust away from the instrument and smiled happily. "It was a long wait, but it's here at last."

Stargate Command had also failed to see why a piano was necessary for the expedition, but apparently they had finally budged.

"This will lift our cultural lunches to a new standard," Woolsey assured them, and Rodney wasn't going to argue with him about that. Until now they'd had to make do with an old keyboard.

Rodney had hated the concept of cultural lunch when Woolsey had first introduced it, but after a while he reluctantly had had to admit to himself that it was gradually growing on him. Yes, sometimes he even enjoyed sitting there in the mess hall with a good meal, listening to the music. It had turned out to be a lot of musical talents hidden among the Atlantis crew, some better than others, of course. The redhead soprano – and Rodney frowned when he thought about the little scene that had just taken place outside Aux Lab 4 – was actually very good, but he was sure as hell not going to let her know that. And Zelenka wasn't too bad with a cello, but that too was something Rodney had decided to keep to himself. There was no reason to feed Radek's ego more than necessary.

Rodney took another step forward and lifted the lid to look at the keys. It was a long time since he'd last played the piano, but now he felt a surge of desire to do it once more and it made him realize how much he'd missed it.

Woolsey eyed him closely. "Do you play, Doctor?" he asked.

"A little," Rodney replied, again trying to not come on as too interested.

"Well, then play a little for us," Woolsey urged him.

Rodney hesitated. He wanted to, but then again it was _years_ since last time, and being the perfectionist he was…

"Yes, go on," Dahl joined in. "It could be interesting to hear a scientific approach to classical music."

Rodney wasn't quite sure whether she was teasing him or not, but he chose to go with the first alternative. "Several scientists are good musicians!" he snapped. "After all, music is math."

"Not just math," Dahl disagreed. "I find that to be a cold description to something so beautiful. But of course scientists can be good musicians. I've heard Zelenka here play." She nodded towards the Czech.

Zelenka smiled broadly. "Thank you."

That did it. Rodney demonstratively sat down at the stool in front of the piano, and the others looked at him with anticipation as he stretched his arms over his head and cracked his fingers, before he started to play an old piece he knew by heart.

It didn't sound right.

It didn't sound right at all. To be honest it actually sounded awful. Rodney frowned, and in the corner of his eye he could see the hint of a smile on Zelenka's lips. Sheppard and Dahl on the other hand were not even trying to hide their wide grins.

"That was certainly interesting," Dahl said. "Is it a contemporary piece?"

"Or just your own colorful interpretation of it?" John added.

Rodney glared at them. "It's not me," he said. "It's the piano. It's out of tune."

Woolsey grimaced. "So it would seem," he said. "I will have to see to that."

Rodney rose and just then he saw Jennifer Keller enter the room. She looked in his direction, but when their eyes met, her gaze cooled and she looked away. Rodney stifled a sigh. Apparently she was still mad.

Once again John's ever-observant gaze didn't fail him. He turned around to have a look at Jennifer himself and then looked back towards Rodney. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Rodney was not planning to answer him, but anyway he wouldn't have gotten the chance, because now Jennifer was approaching them, and she demonstratively nodded to each of them except Rodney.

"Jennifer," Rodney began.

She turned and pierced him with her glare. "Are you ready to apologize? Because if you aren't you can just shut your mouth, as any other words would be wasted on me."

His mouth fell open as he felt the others' eyes on him. What the hell was this? Why would she yell at him in public now? How could she? They'd been through this! "I _have _said I'm sorry," he said.

"Not like you meant it," she snapped back.

Sheppard and Dahl were now shifting their gazes between Jennifer and himself, while Radek was nervously biting his lip and tapping a finger against the piano. Woolsey only looked confused, but then he spotted someone across the room and left them.

"It's getting colder in here," John eventually said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Indeed," Dahl replied. "What did you do this time, McKay?"

"Nothing," Rodney mumbled, wishing the others had had the decency to leave or at least not probe the matter. This was private. "It's just that I cancelled a date last night."

"He didn't cancel it," Jennifer said in a cold voice. "He just didn't show."

John whistled.

"I was busy," Rodney said and looked up to meet Jennifer's eyes. "And I apologized."

"The same excuse every time," was all she said, and she didn't even sound angry anymore. "Busy, busy, busy. What was it this time? This?" She pointed at the Ancient device that Rodney had placed on the table next to him. "Is this the reason why you left me sitting there like a fool waiting for you?"

"I forgot…" He lowered his voice. "Can we take this conversation privately?"

"No," she said curtly. "No! I don't care if people hear what happened." She pointed at the device again. "I hope this is a bomb that you spent last night disarming, 'cause that's the only excuse I'll find valid enough."

"Well, it did explode," John shot in, but an icy glare from Jennifer made him shut his mouth.

Rodney could feel the frustration growing inside him, and the only way he knew how to express frustration was through anger. "I happen to have an important job," he said, his voice growing gradually louder as he spoke. "I am up to my chin in work just to keep the rest of you safe. But apparently _nobody_ seems to appreciate my effort!"

"You just had to radio to say you weren't coming," Jennifer replied with a scowl. "I know you tend to lose track of time when you're working. I just figured that _maybe _I was important enough for you to remember. But apparently I'm not."

"There was a glitch in the city's cloak! And you know how essential that cloak is to our continued survival. I had to fix it and I had to fix it fast! So don't you think I forgot you over something unimportant! Radek was there, he can tell you."

He looked at Zelenka for backup, but Radek only looked nervously at them and stepped back a little. "Eh, I have to…" He waved his hand pointlessly around and then hurriedly walked away. _Coward,_ Rodney thought.

Sheppard cleared his throat and looked at Dahl. "I believe we have sparring session with Ronon and Amelia in the gym now," he said.

"I believe we have," Dahl replied and the two of them left as well.

Rodney looked back at Jennifer and saw how the previous anger in her eyes had been replaced by sadness. "Sometimes, Rodney," she said, "I believe the only thing you really love is your job."

She didn't wait for his reply. She just turned around and walked away from him. And a part of him wanted to follow her, to beg for her forgiveness. A part of him wanted to shout at her that of course he loved her more than his work and she was silly to believe otherwise. But the other part of him was angry. She had no right to accuse him. Hadn't he showed his affection for her? Hadn't he told her that he loved her? What more could she possibly demand from him?

And besides, what about _his _needs? She should have known by now that his work was important to him, and that the attempt from her side to keep him away from it only made him feel trapped. As a matter of fact she was starting to become clingy. And Rodney didn't like it when women became clingy.

_She knew about my flaws… hm, __shortcomings__ when she started dating me, _he thought as he left the mess hall, his appetite gone. _She should deal with it or leave me alone._

* * *

The early morning light found Rodney in his lab. It was certainly not the first time he'd fallen asleep at his computer, and once again it was his back and his neck that had to pay for it. With a stifled cry of agony he tried to stretch as he blinked several times, trying to get a clear view of his surroundings. There was no one else but him in the room, and he checked his watch. It was almost six in the morning. Radek would be here soon, then. He was always early.

Rodney slowly got to his feet and stumbled to a table by the wall, retrieving a box of tissues, emptied it and used them to wipe down his face, sending a silent thank you to the thoughtful soul who had left them there. It was probably one of the women.

And that made him think about Jennifer and his heart sunk a little as he recalled yesterday's events. He frowned at the memory, feeling a sudden stab of remorse. He sighed and threw the tissues in the waste bin. Yesterday had not been good at all.

"_Dr. McKay, are you there?_"

It took him some time to pinpoint where the voice came from, but eventually he realized that it emitted from the radio earpiece he'd left next to his computer. He picked it up and put it on. "Yes?"

"_Woolsey here. Would you please come to my office?_"

Rodney stifled a yawn. He was hungry and would much rather go to the mess hall for some breakfast, but the expedition leader sounded very insisting. "I'll be right there."

Five minutes later he entered Woolsey's office to be met by his boss' bright smile. "Ah, there you are, McKay," he said. "We've received word from the Semani on M88-574. They're requesting a science team to provide them assistance."

Rodney's eyes grew wide. "The Semani?" he asked. "Really?"

This was surprising. The people of M88-574 – or Sem, as the locals themselves called the planet – had never shown much interest in off-worlders. They were a polite and peaceful people, but had made it clear early on that they wanted as little as possible to do with the Atlantis expedition.

"What do they want us for?" Rodney asked.

"The message doesn't say," Woolsey said. "But we did promise them we'd aid them in any way if needed, and I believe we should keep that promise."

"Absolutely," Rodney said, and tried hard to keep the growing grin off his face. He had not forgotten the fact that a large Ancient outpost was located on Sem, and he'd been dying to have a closer look at it for a long time. But the Semani had so far denied him or anyone else access, as they believed the place to be holy. Maybe now, if he played his cards right, they'd let him in. "I'll put together a team right away."

"Just a few people," Woolsey said. "They ask that only two or three come."

Rodney nodded. Whatever made them happy.

He was halfway out the door when Woolsey added, "Dr. Keller will accompany you. She sees this as a great opportunity to offer her medical aid to the people. Rumor has it they've been suffering from some sort of plague lately."

Jennifer was coming? _Shit. _Rodney knew very well the real reason why she'd made this request. _She knows I'm going, _he thought. _She knows I would seize any opportunity to see that outpost._

He said nothing to Woolsey. He just hurried back to his lab. Zelenka had come early, just like Rodney had anticipated.

"Start packing," Rodney said. "You're coming with me to Sem."

Radek looked up from his computer and peered at him over the rim of his glasses. "What?"

"We've been invited. They need a science team. And you need the experience."

Radek just kept his gaze upon him for a minute. "So this has nothing to do with the fact that Keller's going?" he said.

Damn, he was well-informed.

"No," Rodney lied.

"Despite what you believe, Rodney, I'm not stupid. And I have better things to do than going off-world just because you are afraid to be alone with your girlfriend."

"I'm not afraid!" Rodney protested.

Radek sighed. "Why don't you just apologize?" he said. "Crawl, beg – whatever you have to do."

"Hey, that's none of your business! And you _will _come along, or you'll be pulling the night shift for the next six months. You _know _I have the power to make it happen."

Radek gave him a sour look. "Fine!" he said through gritted teeth. "I'll come along and be your chaperon. But you'll owe me one."

"Sure," Rodney mumbled, knowing very well that debt would soon be forgotten on his part.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Radek had been to Sem once before. It was about a year ago when Rodney had brought him there, obviously hoping that a new face would get the natives to reconsider giving them access to the Ancient outpost. It had been a futile attempt, of course. Still Radek had found the visit interesting. The Semani society had reached the medieval-like state most worlds in the Pegasus galaxy seemed to be at. People weren't overly friendly, but by no means hostile – 'polite' was probably the best description, and in many ways Radek preferred that over the worshiping the Atlantis expedition often were subject to on other worlds.

He pulled his field jacket tighter. It was a rather cold day, or maybe it was just the chilling tension radiating from the two lovebirds that currently flanked him? Keller had certainly not looked happy to see him when he and Rodney met up with her in the Gateroom. Apparently she had hoped to have Rodney to herself on this mission, and Radek could only hope she would put the blame where it belonged. He was here against his will, after all.

The Semani village was located several miles away from the planet's Stargate; another example of the skepticism the locals had for off-worlders. Taking a Puddle Jumper was out of the question. That would not go down well with the villagers, Woolsey had decided, and Rodney had complained uncharacteristically little over the decision. Even now, during the long trek through the forest, he didn't voice his complaints, if he had any. Keller wasn't talking either, and the silence was a little uncomfortable, but Radek couldn't find anything to say to break it. And besides, that might start another quarrel and he wasn't sure he could take it. Compared to that he preferred the uneasy quietness.

After an hour's walk they finally reached the village – well, to be honest, calling the main settlement on Sem a _village_ did not do it justice. It was more like a city, and Radek caught himself smiling when he saw it. He'd always liked those medieval-looking settlements one found throughout this galaxy. The cobbled streets and the spears and towers always made him think about Prague. At the top of all said towers colorful banners were caught high in the wind, and the city walls were covered with ivy – or the Semani equivalent of the plant. It looked like it was taken straight out of a fairytale.

There was only one thing missing…

"Where are all the people?" Jennifer asked.

They stopped in the middle of the open market square right inside the city walls and looked around. There was not a soul to be seen.

"Hello?" Rodney called.

They listened for a reply, but all that could be heard was the flapping sound from the flags and banners overhead. Radek's stomach turned. Something was not right.

Keller turned around, scanning the area once more. "There's no one here," she said, stating the obvious. "What happened?" When the others didn't answer her, she made a suggestion herself, "You think maybe the Wraith?"

Both she and Rodney turned to Radek, and it took him a few moments to realize what they were looking at _him_ for. He had yet to come completely to terms with the fact that he was now able to sense the life-sucking aliens. "Eh, no, I don't sense any," he said. _Believe me, you'd know if I did, _he silently added to himself.

"Wraith would have left bodies," Rodney concluded.

Radek decided to voice his concern. "We should go back," he said. "Something's wrong."

"Well, _clearly,_" Rodney said.

Radek just ignored the snappy tone in the Canadian's voice. He didn't bother getting into another fight with him. He just wanted to get out of this creepy, dead silent place. He started walking backwards towards the city gate and both Rodney and Keller apparently decided it was a good idea and came along with him.

Then suddenly he heard the sound of something or someone. All three of them flinched and spun around, and all at once they spotted shadows moving around the buildings and the trees in the forest beyond. Twigs snapped, weapons were cocked and then several men came out of hiding and approached them, with guns pointed at them. The Atlantis team instinctively moved tighter in together, and in the corner of his eye, Radek could see that Rodney's hand was hovering over his sidearm, as if he wasn't sure whether he should pull it or not. "Don't," Radek whispered. "There are too many."

The armed men moved in closer, and despite the fact that their uniforms were outworn and tattered they were easily recognizable. These people were Genii. Rodney sighed heavily as he lifted his hands in the air. "Of course," he mumbled.

As a couple of men stripped the Atlantis party of their weapons, the one who was clearly in command stepped up to them and smiled a smug smile that Radek didn't like at all. "Dr. McKay, I presume?" he said.

"What do you want?" Rodney barked back.

"What have you done with the Semani?" Keller exclaimed before the Genii had had a chance to answer Rodney's question.

Radek just kept his eyes nervously on the closest man's weapon and hoped the young physician didn't provoke them too much.

"Easy," the leader said. "The locals are unharmed. Most of them are hiding in the woods. Their natural shyness makes them very cooperative."

Rodney scowled at him. "Then this was a trap all along?"

The Genii leader laughed. "More than anything else you Lanteans are predictable. Who else would send an unprotected science team off-world just because the locals ask them too?"

"What do you want from us?" Keller asked and glared sideways at a man closing in on her.

"All in its time," the leader replied. "Though I think you should have figured out by now that what we wanted were scientists."

"We're supposed to be allies!" the young woman cried.

The man's smile disappeared. "I don't answer to Radim," he spat.

"Are you Kolya's men, then?" Rodney said in a spiteful voice. "'Cause he's dead."

"And I don't answer, and never _have_ answered, to Kolya," the man continued.

"God, how many factions _are _there?" mumbled Rodney.

The Genii leader didn't answer. He just waved his weapon and gestured towards the city gate. "Come on."

Someone grabbed Radek by his arm and yanked him along, and he put up enough courage to glare up at the man and pull his arm free, before he followed along out of the city and into the forest.

* * *

Rodney was furious. Mostly at the Genii, but also a bit at himself for walking so stupidly into their trap. He should have seen it. He was even a little bit angry with Jennifer, just because she was there. She shouldn't have been. She had just come because _he_ was going, and now she was in danger, and how the hell was he going to protect her? She was a couple of meters behind him, being dragged along by a huge bully of a Genii soldier, but judging by the volume of her voice she was holding her own.

"Where are you taking us?" she demanded. When nobody answered, she just continued, "Let go of my arm, you're hurting me!" Apparently she got her wish, because after that she became quiet for a while.

The trek through the forest didn't take as long this time, and when they had almost reached the Stargate, Rodney and his companions were blindfolded. Jennifer started again. "Why do you blindfold us?"

"You ask a lot of questions," one of the Genii remarked.

"Of course I do! I feel I have the right to know where you're taking me."

"You are in no position to demand anything," the Genii replied. "Shut your mouth!"

"Hey, you…!"

"Jennifer!" Rodney called, even though he couldn't see a thing. "Just do as they say."

"Oh, you're one to talk! Are you just gonna let them take us?"

"They've got guns!"

"Coward!"

"Please…"

Rodney recognized the thin voice as Radek's, and it came from somewhere to his left.

"Now is not the time, Jen," he said.

She didn't reply, of which he was grateful. And now he heard the sound of the Stargate being dialed and the well-known 'kawoosh' as it was activated. The Genii were taking them to another planet. He had feared this, but was not at all surprised. _Now we're never gonna be found, _he thought glumly to himself.

They were led forward, and he felt the familiar, cold feeling of walking through the wormhole. Then he had an unfamiliar and weird sensation of falling _upwards, _and exiting the 'gate on the other side was somewhat harder than usual. When the blindfold was removed a moment later, he saw why. The Stargate on this planet was standing a little askew and they'd actually had to climb _up_ from it.

They left the little clearing where the 'gate was located and followed a path through the surrounding forest. Rodney stole a few glances at this new environment, hoping the planet would seem familiar somehow. It didn't, and he bitterly had to conclude that he had no idea where they were.

They soon arrived at a building. It didn't look particularly big, but as they entered it, Rodney realized it was just the entrance to a large underground facility, clearly of Genii design and origin. They were taken down several sets of stairs and into a huge hall.

Rodney scowled at the Genii leader as they came to a halt. "Nice place you've got here," he said, and hoped his voice sounded just as poisonous as he wanted it to be. "Now would you mind telling me what _I _am doing here?"

This time the man obliged. "You are gonna help us, Doctor," he said. "With this."

Then he pulled a sheet away from a huge device standing in the middle of the hall. Rodney frowned as he laid his eyes on it. It was the size of a wardrobe and it certainly looked Ancient. And as always with Ancient devices it sparked a feeling of curiosity in him.

"Where does this come from?" he asked.

"None of your business," the Genii leader replied. "But let's just say we _found _it."

"Ah," Rodney said. "And exactly how many people did you have to kill to get your hands on it?"

"You talk too much." The man's voice was icy cold and threatening. "You will make it work."

Rodney gazed at the device again. He couldn't deny that a part of him desperately wanted to have a closer look at it. But knowing the Genii, this was probably a weapon of some kind – or at least rumored to be – and the last thing he wanted was to provide the Genii with another deadly weapon. Seriously, the nukes had been more than enough.

"No," he said, and straightened himself. "No, I won't do it."

The leader nodded towards the big bully who had been dragging Jennifer all the way, and he stepped forward and grabbed Zelenka by the arm, pulling him closer.

"You _will _do it," the leader continued in a controlled voice. "Or we'll break his limbs, one by one."

Radek's eyes widened and he looked terrified at the man holding him, and then towards the leader.

Rodney hesitated. And apparently he hesitated a moment too long, because in one sudden movement the huge man holding Zelenka had slammed his arm down against his knee, like he would a twig. And just like a twig it snapped. The sickening sound made Rodney flinch, and behind him he heard Jennifer gasp, just before Radek's scream drowned out every other sound in the room. The Czech's knees buckled and he slid down to the floor, whimpering loudly.

"Bastards!" Jennifer screamed.

Rodney looked wide-eyed at Radek on the floor and then his head snapped back up to face the Genii leader. "What the hell!" he said, just as the big bully gave Radek a kick that made the Czech scream again. "Stop it!" Rodney shouted. "I'll do it, I'll do it! Just… stop hurting him."

The leader lifted a hand to signal the other to stop. "Wise choice, McKay," he said. "Just remember, your friend here has three remaining limbs. Four, if we count the neck. And then there's the woman."

Rodney glared at him, but kept his mouth shut. He did not want to provoke them anymore at this point.

Radek was now unmercifully pulled to his feet and dragged towards a door in the wall. There was a small window in it with bars and Rodney guessed it was some sort of jail cell. Jennifer was pulled to another door next to it, and she was pleading with the man holding her. "Please, let me see to him. Let me help him." She was efficiently ignored, and she and Radek were thrown into their separate cells.

"Now, Doctor?" the Genii leader said, and Rodney looked at him.

"I need my computer," he said sharply.

"Fine," the man replied, and Rodney was allowed to pick up his rucksack. He stifled a heavy sigh as he stared connecting his laptop to the Ancient device. How the hell were they going to get out of this?

* * *

Jennifer looked around. The room they had thrown her into was small and dark, and there were no windows except for the one in the door. She glared angrily at it, hoping that somehow the brutal bullies on the other side would feel that glare. She cursed them for taking advantage of a peace-loving, defenseless people like the Semani, she cursed them for bringing them here to this God-forsaken place, and cursed them for breaking Zelenka's arm like that. There had been no reason for that kind of violence, and at least they should have had the decency to let her patch him up afterwards.

Her cell was close enough for her to hear the conversation that was taking place between the Genii and Rodney at the device. "Look, this won't be done in a heartbeat, okay?" she heard Rodney say in the well-known snappy fashion. "Despite what you all think, I am not a magician!"

Jennifer sighed, her anger suddenly gone as the seriousness of the situation dawned on her. They were in trouble now. Big trouble. They were on a strange planet, they had no idea _where_, and they weren't expected back to Atlantis for at least another twenty hours. Rodney would probably have fixed the device by then, or failed to do so, and either way that would result in them getting killed. Jennifer knew enough about the Genii to be certain of this.

She suddenly spotted a crack in the wall that divided her cell from Radek's and she hurriedly went over and sat down next to it. "Radek?" she called. "Radek, are you there?"

She didn't know if the Genii had put guards outside her cell or not, or – if they had – whether they were able to hear her. But if there were guards there and they did hear her, they ignored it, because no one interfered. She heard Radek groan on the other side. "I'm here."

"Are you okay?" she asked, regretting the question right away. "I mean, of course you're not okay, but… Are you hanging in there?" God, why couldn't she come up with something less corny to say?

"I'm fine," he said. At least his reply was just as stupid as her question.

"If you pinch your fingertips, can you feel it?" she asked.

A moment passed as he apparently tried it. "Barely."

"Good. Now, what color is the skin on your arm?"

"I don't know. Too dark in here."

Obviously.

"Try not to move around too much," she said.

"Don't worry," he replied. "I won't."

She gazed at the crack for a few moments, even though she couldn't see anything. She wanted so desperately to help him, but the only thing she could do now was wait. And she hated it.

She leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Outside her cell she could hear the faint muttering of Rodney as he worked on the device and the occasional comment from one of the Genii, and from the neighboring cell Radek's low whimper.

An hour or so passed, and then she heard someone enter the hall outside and she listened curiously. "Tavro?" someone called.

"He's working on it, Chief," said the voice of the man who'd been in charge until now, and whose name was apparently Tavro. Obviously he was not the leader of these bandits after all.

"Still?" the newcomer's voice replied.

"I'm working as fast as I can!" Rodney barked.

"Your reputation proceeds you, Doctor McKay," the newcomer said coolly. "We know you have a way of _stalling_ operations if it benefits you."

"I'm not stalling!" Rodney snapped. "And if you think it's taking too long, then you shouldn't have broken my assistant's arm!"

Uh-oh, Radek was not going to like that, Jennifer thought. But then again, maybe he hadn't heard it. He'd been quiet for some time, and had probably passed out.

"Who broke his arm? Did you order this, Tavro?"

"He needed to be persuaded, Chief," Tavro said.

Suddenly Jennifer realized that this was her chance. She stood up and went over to the little window. "Sir?" she called. "Excuse me, mister?"

"Be quiet!" someone on the outside called and the stock of a rifle was slammed against the bars.

She ignored it. "I'm a doctor!" she shouted. "Please let me help him."

The newcomer came into view and gazed observantly, and almost intrigued, at her. He looked like man in his fifties, but seemed strong and fit for his age.

"Please," she pleaded once more. "Just let me into his cell. Let me take care of him. You'll still have us locked up."

The man silently studied her for another few moments, and then he nodded. "It's alright. Let her into the other cell," he ordered.

"Chief," Tavro began, but one look from his boss was enough to render him quiet.

Jennifer's cell door was opened and she was taken to Zelenka's room. She could feel Rodney's eyes on her as she walked the short distance between the two doors, but she didn't turn to look at him. "Thank you," she said to the leader, and hurried into the cell. As the door was closed and locked behind her, she spotted the Czech. He was propped up against the wall, his head tilting to one side.

"Radek?" she said and knelt down beside him.

He slowly lifted his eyes and gazed at her. "Doctor Keller?"

"Let me have a look at you," she said comfortingly.

The room was dark, but it was still light enough for her to get a general view of his injuries. His right arm was hanging limp down his side and she carefully moved over to have a closer look. As a physician she had seen many nasty things in her life, but the sight of Zelenka's arm still made her shudder. It was bent in an unnatural angle right below the elbow. She bit her lip not to voice her concern just yet, but it was a bad fracture indeed.

"I will have to straighten it," she said.

He nodded.

"It's going to hurt," she warned him.

"I know," he said. "Just do it."

She nodded, wishing she had her medical kit with her, but that had been taken from her on Sem and she had no idea what the Genii had done with it. She got to her feet to look around the room for something to use as a splint. It was not much there, but eventually she found an old piece of wood that would have to suffice. Then she tore up the lining of her jacket.

"Okay," she said as she sat down next to him again and carefully grabbed his upper arm and his wrist. "Just try and relax as much as possible. And feel free to scream."

He didn't say anything and she took a deep breath before she started to work the bones into place. He let out a loud groan and then a couple of loud whimpers, as he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the back of his head against the wall behind him. "You're doing fine, Radek," she soothed, impressed by the display of courage. She certainly would have screamed.

Once she was satisfied she tied the piece of wood to his arm with the strips of cloth from her jacket. Then she used the remainder of the jacket to make a sling and strap his arm to his chest. "There you go," she said and sat back on her heels. "Now I want you to lie down. We need to keep that arm higher than your heart."

The arm was already swelling and in the dim light Jennifer had been able to see that the color of it had started to turn into a bluish-purple nuance. She helped him lie down on the floor, letting him rest his head against her leg. He seemed uncomfortable with it at first, but she assured him it was quite all right.

They both took a minute – he to ride out the pain and she to catch her breath – before she spoke again. "I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"For this. You shouldn't even be here. I know he only forced you along because he didn't want to be alone with me."

"It's not your fault," he stated in a voice that dared her to discuss the matter further. "It's not even his."

She sighed and turned her head towards the closed door, and towards Rodney who she knew was there on the other side. When she looked back at Radek, she saw that he was eyeing her intensively. "He loves you, you know," he said.

She smiled bitterly. "Hell of a way to show it," she said. "When he doesn't even want to be alone with me."

"He's just… inexperienced." One corner of his mouth twisted upwards in some sort of half-smile. "No matter what he claims. But trust me, he loves you. There is no doubt about it."

She met his eyes. "If you say so."

"I say so. And I know him well. Better than he realizes." He paused a little, grimacing as he tried to move. "And I think you know it too. That he loves you."

She sighed. "I guess you're right."

"It's not easy. It never is. Love."

"Tell me about it," she mumbled and leaned her head against the wall. "What's _your _story?"

"Her name was Jirina. She used to be my wife."

That was surprising. She turned her head back towards him. "You've been _married?_"

"Many years ago. When I was very young. We met at the university back in Prague."

"What happened?"

"Life in communist Czechoslovakia was, if nothing else, predictable, and so _we_ were predictable. But when the Cold War ended and the revolution came, things changed. Values… goals changed. _We _changed. I wanted to go west, see the new world, seek out personal growth. She was more of an idealist. She wanted to stay behind, to help rebuild our country. We just didn't fit anymore, you might say. So she left me."

"I'm sorry," Jennifer said.

He tried to shrug, and winced as it apparently caused him pain. "She's all in my past. Last I heard she has a family now. But my point is, I believe some things are worth giving up some of your pride for."

"But she left _you, _Radek."

"And I _let _her leave."

And then he closed his eyes and drifted off into a semi-conscious state, leaving her to silently ponder on his words.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Rodney used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe down his face. He wasn't sure whether it was the toil of the work that made him sweat or just the stressful, terrifying situation. Over the last years he'd been faced with certain death more often than he could count, it was hardly a new experience, but he found that it felt different every time. He guessed some things one could never get used to. Not that he wanted to get used to it. Seriously, who _would_ want to reach that point where you stopped being afraid?

He stole a couple of glances at his surroundings. Most of the Genii soldiers had retreated to another room, but a couple stayed behind and kept him under close observation, their guns in their hands. He sighed and glanced towards the jail doors. It was several hours since Jennifer had talked her way into Zelenka's cell, and Rodney had clearly heard the groans of pain that had come from the room shortly after. He shuddered at the memory.

"Keep working!" one of the soldiers barked, and Rodney reluctantly obliged. He had to look busy, or they'd know that he was trying to drag out the process.

Because he was, of course. He knew very well that as soon as he had finished the repairs he would become obsolete to these people, and so would Jennifer and Radek. And so he worked as slowly as he possibly could.

But, if he were to be completely honest with himself, then he would have to admit that it wasn't just his own doing that the procedure was taking so long. The Ancient device puzzled him. He wasn't quite sure what it was, and so far he hadn't been able to drag much useful information from it.

He tapped away at his laptop keyboard and stifled another sigh over the incomprehensible readings. Maybe they would have made more sense if his heart were in it, he thought. He hoped so. No matter the circumstances, Rodney didn't like running into walls. After all he considered himself one of the smartest men in the universe (and so did other people), and he hated it whenever something or someone proved him wrong.

_Yes, _he decided. In other circumstances this would have been a cakewalk. But right now his mind was preoccupied with other tasks. Mainly finding a way out of this sticky situation. Even though he was a pessimist by nature, he had made impossible escapes from dangerous situations before, and even _he_ would have to conclude that there was usually _some_ way out. He just needed to find it.

The security outside the cells was minimal. That much was clear. But there was probably a reason for that. The Genii obviously had great faith in the locking mechanisms on the doors, and even if they did manage to break free of the cells, there would be guards stationed between this hall and the facility's exit. Unless there was another way out…

Rodney yawned and his eyelids were starting to become really heavy. He had no idea what time it was. He had his wristwatch of course, but that was set to Atlantis-time and would not apply to this planet's solar cycle. His stomach growled, revealing the fact that he had not eaten in several hours.

He glanced at the guard closest to him. "I need to rest," he said. "Unless you can provide me with some _really_ strong coffee."

"Keep working," the man growled.

"Seriously, I'm going to pass out," Rodney pushed on. "And then I won't get any work done."

"I said, keep working!" the man shouted, and then slammed the butt of his rifle into Rodney's stomach.

For a few moments all Rodney saw were stars. His knees buckled a little and he fought to draw in air. He blinked several times, slowly managing to clear his vision and straighten his body again.

"Keep working," the Genii soldier repeated once more.

"What's going on in here?" a voice rang out, and Rodney and the soldier both turned to see where it came from. The leader of the group and the man previously named Tavro entered the hall.

"He refused to work," the guard replied.

"I… I only asked for a little rest," Rodney gasped.

"Be quiet!" the soldier shouted and lifted the rifle again, making Rodney flinch and step backwards.

"Hold it!" the leader said, and the soldier lowered his weapon and turned to look at his commander. "It's late at night," the leader continued. "We shall grant him rest."

"Fermin," the man called Tavro protested, but his commander only sent him a warning look.

"A rested man works better," Fermin, as he obviously was called, said. "Even slaves must sometimes sleep."

"Yes, Chief," Tavro said, but seemed a little reluctant.

Fermin nodded to the soldier, and he grabbed Rodney by the arm and took him to the cell Jennifer had previously occupied.

"You know, I could really use some food," Rodney said as he was pushed into the little room. "If I don't eat I'll become hypoglycemic…"

"Don't push your luck," the soldier hissed and slammed the door shut, leaving Rodney alone in the dark.

He glanced around, taking in these new surroundings, but there weren't much to look at. There was literally nothing in the room.

"Rodney?"

He looked around to pinpoint where Jennifer's voice came from, and finally spotted the little crack in the wall. He crouched down next to it. "Jennifer?"

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He rubbed his stomach. "I'll live."

"What's happening?"

"Well, apparently they're granting me a night's sleep."

"How decent of them," she remarked in a sarcastic voice.

He silently watched the crack for a few moments, wishing he could see her. "How is Zelenka?" he asked.

She paused. Long enough for him to know something was seriously wrong. "Not good," she eventually replied. "It's a bad fracture, Rodney. The blood circulation has been compromised."

"So, he's gonna lose it?"

Again she paused. "He might. But that's not the worst."

Of course that could not be the worst. He should have known. The law of Murphy apparently never seized to apply in this galaxy. "No?" was he all he said.

"I believe he's bleeding. Internally."

"What does that mean?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"He needs surgery," Jennifer answered. "Soon. Or he'll die."

With a sigh Rodney sat back on his butt and leaned his back against the wall. "Crap," he said.

"What are we gonna do?" Her voice sounded tiny and scared, and that protective man he'd never known he was before he met her, came to the surface once again.

"I'll get us out," he said. "I promise."

"How?"

He had no idea how, of course, and before he could come up with some insignificant answer, he heard the lock in his door turn and the door was opened. One of the Genii soldier threw a blanket inside and then put down a bowl of food on the floor. "Courtesy of Fermin," he said, and his voice clearly gave away that he didn't approve of this act of compassion from his superior. Rodney didn't reply; he only glared at the man as he left him and closed the door once more.

"We've been given water and food," Jennifer declared from the other cell.

"Yes, so have I," Rodney said and went over to have a closer look at it. Even Genii military rations couldn't destroy his appetite at this point, and he picked it up and sat down by the wall with it. "You should eat," he told Jennifer.

"Yes," came her short reply.

It didn't take him long to finish the 'meal', and then he draped the blanket around him as his cell gradually grew colder. He sat there by the crack in the wall, wondering why Jennifer wasn't talking. Then it dawned on him that _he_ wasn't talking either, and he tried to come up with something to say. It shouldn't be so hard, he thought to himself. There was actually a lot he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to apologize for the way he had behaved towards her. He wanted to beg and crawl, as Radek had put it.

But somehow he didn't. For some reason he did not speak. He opened his mouth several times, but every time he closed it again, and he didn't really know why. _You fool, _he thought to himself. _This is the chance you've got. Tomorrow it might be too late. Talk to her, you moron. _But still he said nothing.

He could hear the shuffle of her moving around in the room, and a few low whimpers that probably came from Zelenka. Sometimes he heard them talk, but not to him, and their words were too muffled for him to make out. He had no idea how many hours went by. He just sat there, and sometimes he felt as if he could sense her on the other side of the wall, mentally reaching out to him as he did to her.

He dosed off after a while and got a few hours of sleep, before his cell door was opened and he was called out to continue his work. But during the night he at least had had the time to come up with an idea and a next course of action.

"I need more power," he told the Genii as matter-of-factly as he could. "I need to hook my computer up to yours, or else I won't be able to start this thing." Tavro glared at him, but Rodney ignored him, looking to Fermin instead. "Sir?" he said.

"Very well," Fermin said.

"Chief, I must protest!" Tavro exclaimed.

"I'm in charge here, Tavro," the leader coolly replied, and put an efficient end to the discussion.

Rodney hurriedly grabbed the cables and hooked his laptop to the Genii computer that was situated by the wall opposite of the jail cells, hoping the contents of its files would include the information he needed.

* * *

Jennifer hadn't slept much. She'd spent most of the night tending to Radek who had been in and out of consciousness. He was in great pain. She knew this, even though she saw he was trying to hide it from her. "I'm sorry," she'd said several times. "I don't have any pain killers."

"Not your fault," he would answer every time, but his voice had gotten fainter and more slurred during the night.

It was morning now, or so she thought because Rodney had been taken from his cell, but she doubted that Zelenka would survive another day. She did not voice these concerns out loud though. Just like he tried to hide the pain from her, she tried to hide the seriousness of the situation from him, but she feared her attempt was just as futile as his. The knowing look he sent her now and then clearly stated that he knew he was in a bad shape.

"You want something to eat?" she asked him. She had tried to offer him some the night before, but he had refused.

He shook his head. "No, thank you."

She sighed, but didn't pursuit the matter. "Have some water, at least." She held the flask to his lips and he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls. She smiled reassuringly, but she knew very well that smile didn't reach her eyes. And the smile she got in return, told her he'd seen it.

She rested her hand on his forehead for a minute. His skin was becoming damp and diaphoretic, and she fought hard to keep that deep frown that took form inside her away from her face. There was no doubt he was bleeding – his pale features and the purple bruise that kept growing on his arm was evidence enough – and he would go into shock soon unless he'd get help.

"How are you holding up?" she asked. She knew it was a stupid question, but she felt she had to ask it nonetheless.

"I'm tired," he whispered.

"I know. But try to stay awake, okay?"

"I'll try," he promised.

"I thought about what you said last night," she said, trying to strike up a conversation. "About love and pride and all."

He grimaced. "Yes?"

"Do you ever regret you let her go?"

He paused as he seemingly pondered on the question. "I used to. Sometimes. But not anymore."

"But you never remarried."

"No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

He smiled tiredly. "Well, to remarry you need first find someone. And I guess I never met anyone who… There have been lovers, of course, and girlfriends – despite popular belief, I am not a hermit. But marriage? Well…" His eyes lost focus for a minute, as if his thoughts drifted. "The thought has never crossed my mind. At least not before…" He abruptly stopped talking.

She smiled and looked curiously at him. "You've met someone?"

He actually blushed a little. "No," he replied curtly, and then paused a little before he added, "I haven't _met _her."

Her smiled broadened. "But someone's caught your interest?"

"I…"

He looked uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook _now. _"Someone on Atlantis?" she asked eagerly.

"Where else?" he muttered, but then he shook his head. "Oh, listen to me, confiding in you like this. You don't even like me."

Her smile disappeared and she stared at him, uncertain whether she'd actually heard what she thought she'd heard. "What?" she exclaimed. "What d'you mean, I don't like you?" He looked away, but she forced him to meet her gaze again. "Radek, do you think I don't like you?"

"Well, I… Never mind."

"No!" She shook her head. "No, I _will _mind. I don't want you to believe I dislike you. It's just that… I don't know you. You see, I tend to be shy around people I don't know, and I guess that might sometimes come across as hostility."

"Okay."

"So we're cool?"

"I guess."

She exhaled, trying to shake the sense of tension that had fallen between them. "So, who is she? Someone I know?"

"I won't tell."

"Are you sure? If it's someone I know, I could put in a good word for you."

He actually smiled now and a teasing gleam appeared in his eye. "But you don't know me."

This time she was the one who blushed. "Oops, busted," she said with a little, nervous laugh. "But I'd say I know you well enough to conclude that you're a decent guy."

"Thank you."

She looked earnestly at him. "But I'd like to know you better, Radek. I should. We've worked together for a long time now. And you're obviously an important person in Rodney's life." He snorted. "Oh, come on," she said. "I know _he'll _deny it, but at least you shouldn't. I believe you know better."

He tried to move his injured arm a little and seemed to regret it a second later, as his whole body contracted and he gasped. "Lay still," she said, and carefully rested a hand on his shoulder while he rode out the pain.

"I guess I can be a little prejudiced myself," he said once he was able to speak again. "I just expect people not to like me. I know they find me weird. People always have. When I was a child, I never socialized much. I suppose I never learned how to behave around others."

She smiled knowingly, wondering if he knew how familiar this story was to her. "You were a prodigy," she stated.

"Yes. I was twelve when they came and took me away."

"They?" she said. "Away?"

"Representatives of the Party," he explained. "They sent me to a school for so-called gifted children in Prague, miles away from home."

"And you were only twelve? How awful!" She stared at him, finding this new piece of information quite shocking. Growing up she had been a prodigy too, always felt like a freak and out of place, but at least she'd been allowed to be with her father.

"It was how it was done," he said, and it wasn't clear to her whether he defended that system or just stated that that was the way it was. "I was told I was to use my talents to serve the Party and the People, and the Party provided for my family in return."

"Did you get to see them?" she asked.

"I visited them every summer," he said. "Listen, it wasn't that bad. I was happy in Prague. There were other children like me there. For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged somewhere. That my talents and my work were appreciated. At home I only felt, yes, _weird._"

"At least I can relate to that," she said.

His eyes got that dreamy far-off look again. "The first week I was in Prague, I snuck out and wandered around on my own a little. I ended up on Charles' Bridge crossing the river Vltava." She nodded, showing that she was paying attention. "You know that stupid game where you throw a wooden stick in the water and then run across the bridge to see it come out on the other side?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"I did that. And every time since when I crossed that bridge. I still do it whenever I go home." He paused and closed his eyes. "It's so silly."

"I don't think so," she said with a smile, and meant it. She pulled the blanket the Genii had given them the night before all the way up to his chin. "You need to stay warm," she said, and then gently patted him on his cheek a couple of times. "And stay awake."

He mumbled a little, but obediently opened his eyes. She made him drink some more water and checked his pulse and color of the fingers on the injured arm. Both things made her frown. His glassy, feverish gaze followed her and she knew he must have seen it. But he didn't say anything.

She was about to strike up the conversation again, when she heard the door in the next cell open and Rodney's irritated voice as he apparently was pushed in. She hurried across the little room and crouched down by the crack in the wall. "Rodney, what's going on?"

"I told them I had to, you know, go," he answered from the other side of the wall. "I need to speak to you."

"Yes?"

He lowered his voice. "I've found a way out."

"Really?"

"Yes. I managed to hack into their system. The locks on these jail doors are remotely controlled. I believe I am able to override them from my work station."

"Okay?"

"Listen carefully to me now. They will soon come to collect me again."

"I'm listening."

"When I see an opportunity I will create a distraction and then override the locking mechanism to open your door. As soon as you hear it open, I need you to take Radek and run for the door at the far end of the hall outside."

"But…"

"Listen! I found the layout of this facility in the computer base. That door will take you to the auxiliary exit. I will give you directions now, you must memorize them." Quickly he described the route to her. "Will you remember that?"

"I will. But what about _you_?"

He was silent for a moment or two. "I will have to stay behind," he said.

"We won't leave you here!" she exclaimed.

"Jen, we have no choice. I know Radek's getting weaker all the time. You need to do this while he can still walk." He paused and then added, "He can still walk, right?"

"I believe so." Her voice was suddenly thick with emotion. "Rodney, when they discover that we're gone, they will kill you."

Again he was quiet for a few seconds. "Yes," he said rather stiffly and overly controlled. "They most likely will."

"Rodney…" She put the palm of her hand on the icy cold wall that separated them, wanting so much to touch him.

"Jennifer, you must do it, you hear me?" he pleaded with her. "Please get out of here. If not for your sake, then do it for Radek. He doesn't deserve to be here."

She swallowed hard and blinked back a few tears. "Okay," she managed to say.

"Good. Be ready."

She heard the door on the other side open and the voice of a Genii soldier gruffly calling Rodney out. And as she heard him leave, she suddenly realized there was something important she had forgot to tell him.

"I love you," she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Jennifer had managed to get a rather dazed and woozy Zelenka up on his feet, and explained Rodney's plan to him. He'd reacted with a considerable amount of skepticism. "I don't like it," he'd said.

"Me neither," Jennifer had replied. "But I don't think there's an alternative, except do nothing and surely get killed."

"Rodney will get killed," he'd solemnly pointed out.

"I know," she'd sighed. "And so does he. But he wants us to have a chance."

Radek had said no more as she'd helped him lean against the wall by the door, most likely because he needed all his strength to ride out the pain it undoubtedly caused him and to just stay on his feet. But now, fifteen minutes later as they still waited, he spoke again. "It probably won't work anyway. I won't be fast enough. Not like this." He looked at her, his boyish, blue eyes filled with an earnestness that truly moved her. "Perhaps you should leave _me _behind, as well?"

"No," she said and tore her gaze away from his, fearing the look in his eyes might actually persuade her.

"You would stand a better chance if…"

"No, Radek!" she repeated. "I won't hear of it. I'm not leaving more people behind. To have _one _man sacrifice himself for me is quite enough!" The words came out much harsher than she'd intended and she had to blink several times to fight back her tears.

He must have seen it. "I'm sorry," he said.

She glanced back at him. "Just stay alive. I'll get you home."

He was about to say something, but just then a loud bang came from the hall outside. It startled Jennifer, but she soon pulled herself together and grabbed Radek's unharmed arm. This had to be Rodney's distraction.

And sure enough, the next second she heard the click as the door unlocked. _Here goes, _she thought as she used the weight of her body to push the door open, pulling Zelenka along with her.

There was smoke in the hall and no Genii soldiers were anywhere near her cell. Jennifer had no idea how Rodney had managed this, but it didn't surprise her. She knew him to be quite resourceful, especially under pressure. She didn't even look back over her shoulder as she hurriedly made her way along the wall and found the door at the back of the room Rodney had directed her to. She kicked it open and pushed Zelenka in first. And as the door closed behind her a second later, she heard the lock click into place, and the shadow of a smile fell across her lips and she sent a silent thank you to Rodney for giving them this head start.

"Come on," she said to Radek and pulled him with her as she started walking down the corridor they'd ended up in. She counted the doors, recalling the directions Rodney had given her. "One… two… three… third door on the left." She opened it and allowed Zelenka in first once again.

They continued through the facility in this manner, she leading the way and he just concentrating on keeping up. They didn't see or hear anyone, and Jennifer couldn't believe their luck. At the same time, though, it made her a little uneasy.

Eventually they ended up in some sort of tunnel and at the end of it, they almost ran into a ladder leading to a hatch in the roof over them. "Here," Jennifer whispered as they came to a halt. "This must be it." She looked at Zelenka. "Can you climb?"

He was panting and almost doubled over from the strain. His face had turned awfully pale, and he peered up at her with glassy eyes. "Do I have a choice?" he mumbled, and shifted his gaze to the ladder. "Give me a push."

_He shouldn't be moving around this much,_ she thought to herself. But what did it matter? He had to, and somehow he was still capable to. Where he found that strength, she would very much like to know. She steadied him as he started climbing, using only his left arm, the other still in a sling tied to his chest. She followed right behind, nudging and pushing him upwards, until they reached the top.

"Hold me," whispered Radek. "I need my arm to open the hatch."

She climbed another step and put her arms around him, steadying them both as he reached out his shaking, left hand and flipped the handle. The hatch made a hissing sound as it came loose of its hinges and Radek gave it a push to open it, revealing a clear sky overhead.

"We're out," Radek panted and climbed the last few steps. Jennifer hurriedly followed, and they both tumbled out. Radek groaned as he stumbled and fell, and Jennifer picked him up, pulling him with her towards a thicket close by. Once hidden they both dropped to the ground to catch their breath.

Jennifer peeped over the bushes and had a look at the surroundings. The only visible part of the underground facility was the hatch they had just come out of. The rest of the landscape looked like any other forest. She dumped back down next to Zelenka. "I can't believe that worked," she whispered.

"We're not through the Stargate yet," he pointed out, his speech even more slurred than before.

"Yeah, where _is_ the Stargate?" She gazed around again. Rodney had only directed her this far. She had no idea which direction they should take next.

Radek fought to sit up and she reached out an arm and helped him. "We've been on this planet, what, like maybe twenty-four hours?" he asked.

She glanced at her watch. "Something like that."

"If this planet's solar cycle resembles that of Earth, then the Stargate is somewhere in _this_ direction." He nodded his head to indicate where.

She frowned. "How d'you know?"

"Because of the sun, of course. I remember walking towards it when we first arrived. Most habitable planets have twenty-something-hours days. I see no reason why this should be any different. But I can't know for sure."

"It's our only lead," she said. "I'll just take your word for it. Can you stand?"

"I think so."

She gently helped him to his feet, and they started walking away from the sun. As they slowly made their way through the underbrush, Jennifer listened carefully to all the sounds around them, ready to throw herself and Zelenka into hiding in a moment's notice. But so far everything was going well. There were no Genii soldiers to be seen or heard. The only obstacle at this point was Radek's worsening condition. He was walking rather slowly and seemed a little dizzy, and she offered him a hand, which he accepted without any fuzz. "Just hang in there," she whispered to him. He didn't reply.

They reached the top of a hill and she stopped dead in her tracks, making him bump into her. There below them was the clearing with the Stargate – and a couple of Genii soldiers. Jennifer crouched down behind a bush. "It's guarded," she said, even though Radek could clearly see that for himself. "But of course it is."

Before she could do or say anything else, Zelenka tilted and collapsed. She lunged forward and caught him, his weight nearly brought her down with him, but she managed to regain her balance and gently lower him to the ground. "Yeah, have some rest," she said, as if he had fallen deliberately.

He peered up at her and his body trembled beneath her hands. He was white as a sheet and his lips were turning blue. "Let me have a look at you," she said.

She sat down next to him and carefully loosened the sling a little to examine his arm. It was swollen and purple almost beyond recognition, just like she'd expected. All this movement had increased the blood circulation and made him bleed more. The splint was still neatly in place, though.

She fastened the sling again and had another look over the bushes at the 'gate and the soldiers. She knew they were well hidden and too far away from the Genii to be heard. "Hopefully they'll stray away from it soon," she whispered to Zelenka. "Let's just wait here."

She sat back down and looked at Radek. He had closed his eyes, and she leaned in and gently slapped his cheek. "Hey, stay with me!" His eyes flashed open again, and he seemed a little confused as he looked up at her. "You need to stay awake," she explained.

He made no reply, but she could see he tried hard to oblige. She also knew he was fighting a losing battle. No matter what any of them did now, he was about to go into shock. She carefully elevated his legs, and wished she'd brought the blanket to keep him warm.

"Let's talk," she whispered. "We could play a game. Name the capital?"

He still didn't say anything, but he kept his gaze locked on her. "Okay, I'll start," she said. "Eh, Colombia?"

"Bologna," he answered.

"That was easy. Let's see… Iceland?"

"Reykjavik."

"Rwanda?"

"Kigali."

"Okay… Surinam?"

"Paramaribo."

"Wow, you're good at this game," she said in genuine amazement, just as his eyes began to slide shut again. "No, no, stay awake!" She gave him another slap. "Radek?" He didn't respond and she shook him. "Radek, talk to me! Tell me more about Prague, will you? About how you threw wooden sticks into Valta."

"Vltava," he corrected her in a low and ghostly voice.

"Yes, Vltava," she repeated, happy to hear him speak. But he was already slipping again, and she knew there was no way she could keep him conscious much longer. "We need to get to the Stargate, Radek," she decided. "We can't afford to wait."

She crept forward a little and peeped through the bushes at the clearing down below. There were only to guards stationed there. "We need a diversion," she said. The words were directed at Zelenka, but she was uncertain whether he heard her or not. Either way he didn't answer.

She thought hard for a few minutes to come up with something, and when a ray of light from the sun penetrated the leaves overhead and reflected in Zelenka's glasses, she was suddenly struck by inspiration. "Fire," she exclaimed. "We could make a fire to lure the guards away. That would work. We use your glasses as burning-glass. I've seen it in movies."

"Matches," he mumbled.

"What?" she said, pleasantly surprised to hear his voice again.

"Matches," he repeated. "In pocket."

For a moment she felt incredibly silly. She should have remembered that matches were standard equipment on off-world missions. "Or we could use matches," she mumbled. "That's even smarter."

She retrieved the little box from Zelenka's pocket. "You just wait here," she instructed, as if he was able to do anything else.

Not taking any chances, she gave the clearing and the soldiers a wide berth as she walked to the opposite side. It gave her some time to think, and she thought about Rodney and wondered if he was still alive or not. Surely they must have discovered their escape by now, and he was the one who would have to take the brunt of it. The thought filled her with so much sadness that it almost knocked her to the ground, but there was no time to grieve now. She shook her head to pull herself out of the state of despair, and made a big pile of dry leaf before she sat a match to it.

Bending down to blow the first hesitating flames into life, she spotted a flower beside her. It resembled a daisy from back home, except that the stamens were bright red. Suddenly strangely bothered by the fact that this flower would be consumed by the fire, she picked it up and almost unconsciously put it in her pocket.

Once she was confident the fire wouldn't die out, she got to her feet and hurried back the way she had come. Now she could only hope that the guards would soon detect the smoke and go to investigate.

Radek was where she had left him and apparently he hadn't even moved. His eyes were closed, his face looked lifeless and she touched his cheek with the back of her hand, feeling how cold and clammy he was. "Hang on," she whispered. "Just a little more."

She looked over the bushes and smiled to herself as she saw the thick smoke coming from the forest. The two soldiers had seen it to, and one of them left the Stargate and disappeared in between the trees. "Come on," Jennifer whispered, silently urging the other to follow. She was half on her feet, ready to jump into action.

Just as the first yellow flames became visible from where Jennifer sat, she heard the first soldier shout and the second answered him and disappeared into the forest too. Jennifer didn't waste any time. She grabbed Zelenka's left arm and draped it over her shoulder, pulling the semi-conscious man up from the ground. He was heavy, but she gritted her teeth, assembling the last of her strength, and pulled him along down the slope and unto the clearing below.

By the time she reached the DHD, she was running on adrenalin alone, and Radek fell limply to the ground when she dropped him. She started dialing and for every symbol, she turned and glanced nervously over her shoulder. And just as the last chevron clicked into place, the two soldiers came back. They saw her, shouted and cocked their guns, running towards her. She pressed the center button, and the strangely tilted 'gate kawooshed into life just as a bullet whistled passed her head.

She stooped down to pick up Radek, dragging him towards the event horizon. Another bullet just missed her, and hoping that the Atlantis Gate tech had had time to receive her IDC and lower the shield, she threw herself and Zelenka down into the wormhole.

There was a strange feeling of falling down and then they propelled horizontally out of the event horizon, landing ungraciously in the familiar Atlantis Gateroom. Jennifer only just managed not to land on top of Zelenka, and she lifted her head and saw several marine boots running towards her. "Raise the shields," she gasped. "No one else is coming."

The Stargate died behind her and she turned her attention to Zelenka. He was lying lifeless on the floor next to her. "We did it, Radek," she said. "We're home."

He didn't respond, and she felt for his pulse as she gazed up at the people surrounding them. "We need…"

One of the marines was already on it. "Medical team to the Gateroom… STAT," he called into his radio.

Jennifer spotted Woolsey and Sheppard making their way through the crowd. They both looked like they wanted to ask her a lot of questions, and she didn't blame them, but right now she didn't have the time. "Come on, Radek," she urged the unconscious Czech. "Just a little longer."

"Dr. Keller, what happened?" Woolsey asked.

"Where's Rodney?" Sheppard added.

"He stayed behind," she replied curtly, feeling how painful it was to hear herself say those words. "So that we could escape."

The Atlantis medical team, bless them, was fast as always. The next moment they rushed into the Gateroom with a gurney, and Jennifer saw they were lead by Dr. Jim McBride. "Hurry!" she said to him. "He's got a nasty fracture in his right arm. Internal bleeding. He needs immediate surgery and blood transfer."

McBride's eyes met hers and he smiled gently. "I got it," he said calmly.

"Yes," she said and slowly got to her feet, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was. She allowed McBride and the others to take care of Zelenka, and they had soon gotten him onto the gurney and hurried from the room.

Sheppard grabbed her arm. "What happened?" he demanded.

"It was a trap," she said. "They used the Semani to…"

"That much we know," he interrupted. "When you didn't check in as scheduled, we contacted them and they said a group of Genii soldiers had taken you. One could wonder why they didn't bother to tell us right away…"

"Don't blame the Semani," she said. "The Genii frightened them."

"So where did they take you?"

"Some other planet. I don't know where."

"The planet you dialed in from now?"

"Of course."

Sheppard sighed. "Not that it matters much. The computer doesn't store addresses from incoming dials. So, unless you know which planet…"

"I don't, okay?" Her voice was sharper than intended. She was so tired and full of despair, wanting nothing more than to scream and then cry. "If I knew where I just came from, don't you think I would have told you? It's my boyfriend back there!"

She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Teyla standing next to her. She hadn't even noticed that the Athosian woman had arrived. And so had Ronon. He was standing behind Sheppard with that well-known, determined, ready-for-action look on his face. "We will search for him nonetheless," Teyla said earnestly.

"You'll never find him." Jennifer's voice trembled now. "And it's probably too late anyway. They would… will…" She couldn't say it out loud – there was no way she could bear to hear herself say that he had most likely been killed – and now the tears welled up in her eyes.

"I ain't giving up yet," Sheppard said through gritted teeth.

"Tell us what happened," Woolsey said compassionately. "From the start."

She quickly gave them a summary of the events, feeling the rest of her strength leave her as she did so. She was so incredibly tired and overcome by emotions that she could hardly think straight, and her story was probably a little incoherent. She didn't even notice the tears sliding down her face before she felt Teyla's arm around her, patting her gently. "Do not give up hope yet," she said. "It seems the Genii _needs _Rodney. They might still want him alive."

Jennifer had put her hand in her pocket while she spoke, and now she pulled it up in a sudden movement, waving it around in a desperate gesture. And as she did so, the little flower she had picked on the planet, fell out. Teyla bent down to pick it up. "What is this?"

"It's a flower from the planet. I took it. The fire… I really don't know why I took it."

Chuck, the Gateroom technician, had come down from his place at the control station to get his piece of the action. "Hey, that's a _myriantis,_" he said.

They all turned to look puzzled at him, and especially Sheppard and Ronon lifted their eyebrows in a questioning frown. Chuck blushed a little and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Well, at least that's what Rachel… um, I mean, Dr. Abram from Botany has told me."

Amelia Banks, who was standing next to him, smirked knowingly and rolled her eyes a little, and Jennifer thought to herself that she too might have found this a little cute if she hadn't been so worried.

"Well, good, now we know its name," Sheppard said sarcastically.

Chuck looked at him. "No, seriously, according to the Ancient database the _myriantis _only grows on one planet."

Inside her Jennifer felt a faint spark of hope, and Sheppard was suddenly all ears. "Which one?"

"Eh, just a minute." Chuck hurried over to the nearest computer and typed at the keyboard a little. "It's right here… M74-410."

Sheppard and Ronon were already on the move. "Lorne!" the Colonel called to his second in command. "Get your boys and meet us in the Jumper bay."

Teyla squeezed Jennifer's arm a little and gave her a reassuring smile, before she followed the rest of her team. Jennifer watched them go, silently cursing the optimism that was growing in her. _Don't get your hopes up, _she told herself.

She flinched as Woolsey put his hand on her shoulder and spun around to face him, which in turn startled _him. _"Doctor," he said. "Perhaps you should go to the infirmary and have yourself looked at?"

For a few moments she just stood there, silently contemplating his suggestion. "Yes," she eventually agreed. "And I need to see to Radek."

Amelia reached out a hand. "I'll take you there," she offered, and Jennifer gladly accepted her help.

They made their way to the infirmary without talking and arrived to find the place buzzing with commotion. Marie, the head nurse, spotted Jennifer as she came through the door and stepped up to greet her.

"Zelenka?" Jennifer asked, before the nurse had had a chance to say anything.

"He's being prepped for surgery," Marie said. "Come sit down. You look like you're ready to drop." She gently, but firmly made Jennifer sit down on a bed. "Are you injured?" she asked.

"No," Jennifer shook her head.

Marie squeezed her arm and smiled mildly. "Then have a little lie-down. And then a shower."

"I will."

"Good. I need to get ready. Will you be alright?"

"Yes. Go help Jim. You have to save Zelenka."

"We'll do our best," the nurse promised.

"I know," Jennifer said and managed a little smile. "You always do."

Marie went to the OR and Amelia headed back to the control room and her duties, leaving Jennifer alone in the infirmary. And now, when all the action was over and she was safe and sound back in Atlantis, she had time to think once again, to really dwell on her thoughts. And she thought about Rodney and what he had done to save her.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to doubt his love for her anymore, she thought bitterly, recalling their fight. It seemed so stupid now. _Zelenka's right, _she thought. _Not all battles are worth winning._

And then she buried her face in a pillow and silently cried.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

Rodney spat another clot of blood-induced saliva out on the floor, and used his tongue to search for any missing teeth. Amazingly, they were all still there. That last punch he had received to his jaw was just the last of many. When the Genii had discovered that they'd lost two of their prisoners, they'd taken it out on the one remaining, just as Rodney had expected them to.

What he _hadn't _expected was the long duration of the punishment. It had been going on for several hours now. They had beaten him and kicked him and then thrown him into his cell for just enough time to convalesce a bit, before they pulled him out and started beating him again. His whole body was aching now, but he was still conscious and, as far as he could tell, nothing was broken. The Genii were good at what they were doing. They _wanted _him to last for as long as possible.

Tavro, the second-in-command, had personally delivered quite a few of the punches, and to Rodney it seemed like he was actually enjoying himself. The leader, Fermin, on the other hand, was mostly just observing.

"I don't know how you did it, McKay," Tavro said through gritted teeth. "But you'll be sorry you helped your friends escape."

Sorry? Rodney almost had to smile. There were a lot of things he was sorry about, but helping Jennifer escape these devils wasn't one of them. And his plan had worked, apparently. Neither Jen nor Radek had been brought back to the facility, and judging by the fury of the soldiers, they hadn't been found.

"I'm going to kill you," Tavro said.

"Kill me then," Rodney answered. _Anything but more of this, _he added silently to himself.

"Oh no." Tavro smiled sadistically and lifted his fist as if to hit again, and he laughed when Rodney flinched. "Not yet. First you will finish your work on this machine."

"I don't think so," Rodney said. "You're gonna kill me anyway, and then I prefer _not _to help you."

This time Tavro really did hit him. His fist connected with Rodney's face in a violent blow, and Rodney tried to blink away the stars that popped up in front of him. But before he managed to clear his vision, Tavro hit him again, and Rodney gagged, his knees buckled, his stomach turned and he threw up on the floor.

"That's enough," Fermin's voice rang out. "You mustn't kill him."

"But you heard him," Tavro protested. "He's not gonna help us."

"I said, enough!"

Rodney's vision returned in time to see Fermin's boots moving towards him, and he forced his head up to face the Genii commander. "You better reconsider, Doctor," Fermin said. "We are still interested in what you have to offer us. You might still be spared."

Tavro snorted. "You helping him again? Wasn't it enough that you allowed him access to our computer system?"

"Watch your tongue, boy!" Fermin snarled.

Reluctantly, Tavro seemed to oblige and stepped back. But there was tension between him and his commander now. Even Rodney could sense it.

The door to the hall opened and another soldier entered. He was coughing. "It's spreading out of control, Chief," he told Fermin.

Rodney frowned. What exactly was out of control?

Fermin cursed. "Keep fighting it!" he said, and if the soldier had even considered protesting, he changed his mind under his leader's piercing glare and just hurried out of the room again.

Fermin turned back towards Rodney. "I'll give you one more hour, McKay," he said. "And if you still don't want to help us, I might just hand you over to my second-in-command after all."

He gestured for a couple of the soldiers to grab Rodney and throw him into the cell again. Pain shot through Rodney's body as he hit the floor. "One hour," he heard Fermin repeat, and the jail door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

Radek was slowly making his way back to consciousness, and as he did so he tried to make sense of all the memories that flickered through his mind. The Semani… They had been on Sem… He and Rodney and Keller… And the Genii… There had been Genii soldiers around… Were they still there? Where the hell was _he_?

The sounds from his surroundings began to penetrate the silence: A low beeping, cart wheels on floor… Infirmary? He finally managed to open his eyes to confirm his suspicion, and he exhaled in relief. He was definitely back on Atlantis, cocooned up in an infirmary bed, feeling quite comfortable, but a little woozy, as if he was on sedatives. He probably was, he concluded. He remembered the pain that had been there before, and his arm didn't hurt half as bad now. But it felt strange and heavy and he glanced down to find a huge cast on it, all the way up to the shoulder. He frowned, remembering what the Genii had done to him.

He suddenly spotted a bunch of blond hair close to his left, cast-free hand, and flinched in surprise. The hair was attached to a head resting on his mattress, and he squinted to see who it was. It wasn't easy to make out the face without his glasses, but it certainly looked like… Keller?

Radek stiffened where he lay. He had no idea why Jennifer Keller was asleep next to him, but it felt nothing but awkward and the last thing he wanted was to wake her. _I should just go back to sleep, _he thought to himself. _She'll be gone when I wake again._

He let his eyes sweep across the room. Nobody else seemed to be around, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't see very well. He tried to raise his head from the pillow, but soon regretted it as the room began to spin. He was definitely sedated.

_Go back to sleep, _he repeated to himself, and tried to move into a better position.

Keller startled awake with a gasp and twisted her head around, looking all around her. Then her eyes came to a rest on Radek. "Radek," she said, still panting. "Hey, how are you?"

"Where…?" he began, a little startled himself because of her sudden movement.

She smiled mildly at him. "You've had surgery to your arm," she explained. "Everything went well. Dr. McBride worked a miracle on it. He stopped the bleeding and restored the blood circulation. Looks like you get to keep it."

"That's good," he mumbled, wondering how close to amputation he had really been.

"Yes," she nodded. "You'll be playing your cello again in six to eight weeks if everything heals up nicely. And I believe it will."

He looked at her, searching her face for clues of what she was not telling him. And now he remembered how they had escaped the Genii. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?" she asked.

"For saving my life," he said.

Her smile disappeared and she looked away for a moment. "Don't thank _me_," she said, and her voice quivered. "It was Rodney who saved both of us."

"Rodney?"

"He's still there. He stayed behind."

And Radek remembered. "Yes…"

"Colonel Sheppard and his team went searching for him," she continued. "But it's been several hours and we haven't heard from them."

"That could still mean good news," Radek tried to comfort her.

She just shook her head, and in the blink of an eye, she went back into doctor-mode. "Are you in any pain?"

He rolled his head from side to side. "No."

She nodded silently and rubbed her drawn face with her hands. He studied her for a few moments, and then he said, "I'm sorry."

"This is not your fault, Radek."

"I know, but… I'm sorry."

She sighed. "So am I."

"And thank you," he repeated. "You _did _save my life. He may have opened the doors, but you got me home."

"Well," she said and smiled. "I couldn't let you die. Not now when you're on the brink of something wonderful."

He closed his eyes. He was tired, and keeping them open for too long only made him dizzy, even if he was lying down. He felt Keller's hand on his forehead. "Go back to sleep," she said.

_Not now when you're on the brink of something wonderful, _he repeated her words in his mind and wondered what she'd meant by that. And then the image of a certain red-haired linguist popped up into his head, and he could feel his cheeks blush as he recalled that quite a few things had been said in that Genii jail.

* * *

Once more Rodney was forcefully pulled out of the jail cell, and he steeled himself for another round of beating. But the Genii seemed to have other things on their minds now. Fermin was once again indulged in a battle of words with Tavro.

"We will have to evacuate!" Tavro yelled. "And this is all your fault!"

"How dare you blame me?" Fermin answered.

"You allowed them to escape! You allowed the scientist access to our computers! You allowed him to fool us."

Rodney was being held firmly between two soldiers behind a table next to the Ancient device he'd been working on, and he took the opportunity to glance around the room. All the Genii silently watched the verbal fight between their two top men, and as far as Rodney could see they were about to divide into two groups, both physically and figuratively. Tavro obviously had followers.

"We will evacuate, then," Fermin said coolly. "And then I want you gone, Tavro."

Tavro glared back at him, but chose to keep his mouth shut for now. Fermin turned towards Rodney. "Now, Doctor, have you decided?" he asked. "This will be your last chance. Help us with the device, and I will let you live."

Rodney snorted. "I learned long ago not to trust a Genii," he said.

"You think you know us," Fermin said. "That's unfortunate."

Rodney tried to stand up straighter and look as strong and fearless as he possibly could. "I will not help you."

"Now, now," Fermin said and put his hands behind his back. "I am not like my former second-in-command here. You are of no use to me dead, Doctor. I plan to keep you alive. You…"

His words were cut short by the sound of a gun firing, and at the same moment the Genii commander's eyes grew wide, and a fountain of blood suddenly sputtered from his forehead. Then he collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes, with a gaping hole between his eyes.

Rodney stared. In the middle of the room stood Tavro with a smoking gun in his hand.

"What are you doing?" one of the Genii yelled.

"Something we should have done a long time ago," Tavro replied quietly. "He was getting soft, weak, and not worthy of commanding us."

Rodney's mouth had dropped open. He couldn't quite get his head around what had just happened, but apparently he had now witnessed a Genii mutiny. He looked away from the dead body on the floor. It made him physically ill to see all the blood and what had to be parts of… brain. He almost gagged at the mere thought. Instead he let his eyes sweep across the remaining Genii. Some of them actually looked quite pleased.

Tavro had turned to face his men as well. "I will be your new commander," he said. "And I…"

"Traitor!" another voice rang out, and another gun was fired, and Tavro fell to the floor next to his commander, just as dead.

And now all hell broke loose. Rodney had just enough time to realize that it was probably smart to get out of the line of fire and throw himself to the floor under the table, before all the Genii raised their weapons and fired at each other almost simultaneously. The deafening sound of gunfire echoed through the room, and Rodney covered his head and peered out between his fingers as bodies began to fall and pile up on the floor. One soldier landed right next to him, still with his gun in his hand, and Rodney hurriedly crept forward and snatched the weapon.

The whole thing took less than thirty seconds. Then the room fell deadly quiet, except for a few low moans and whimpers. Rodney was still on the floor, clutching the Genii gun in his trembling hands, and he carefully lifted his head and looked around. Then he slowly crept out from under the table and got to his feet, gun at the ready. He blinked several times, taking in the sight that greeted him. Scattered across the floor lay lifeless and bleeding soldiers. Not _one_ was still on his feet. Rodney pointed the gun at each of them in turn, but he soon realized that all of them were either dear or dying.

"Holy crap…," he muttered and lowered the gun. He slowly exhaled.

Then he heard hurried footsteps approaching from the hallway, and he spun around to face the door and raised the gun with his still shaking hands. Perhaps he would be able to take out a couple of them before they killed him. Ronon would surely be proud. If he ever found out.

The door flew open and Rodney pointed his gun at…

"Sheppard!" he shouted.

Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard stared back at him over the telescopic sight of his P90 for a couple of seconds before he lowered the weapon. "Rodney?"

He looked around at all the dead Genii with a puzzled frown, as Ronon and Teyla and several marines tumbled into the room after him. They all fanned out and scanned the hall for any danger, before they too lowered their guns and looked back at Rodney.

Ronon looked from him to the dead soldiers and back at him again. "Hey," he said with a teasing look in his eye, "you could at least have saved us _one._"

Rodney gazed at the gun in his hand and lowered it. He shrugged. "Well, I…"

"What the hell happened here?" John asked.

Rodney took a deep breath and dropped the weapon. "Suffice it to say that I found out why there are so many different Genii factions."

His friends stepped up to him and Teyla carefully touched his arm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Rodney muttered, and looked at Sheppard. "How did you find me?"

"Well," Sheppard said, "suffice it to say that you're lucky Dr. Keller decided to pick some flowers on her way home."

"Flowers?" Rodney repeated.

"Before she burnt down the forest, that is," Sheppard added. "That's why it took us so long to get here."

Rodney frowned. The things the colonel told him made absolutely no sense, but first things first. "So Jennifer made it back?" he said.

"Yes," Teyla smiled. "She and Radek both. It was a very brave thing you did, Rodney."

Rodney shrugged, and grimaced as it caused pain to his battered body. "You know me," he said matter-of-factly.

"Sure," Sheppard grinned and put a hand to his shoulder. "Let's go home."

* * *

Jennifer was still sitting by Radek's bed in the infirmary, even though the Czech had been asleep for the last hours. She had been really worried about him, but he seemed to recover nicely now. _He sure is stronger than he looks, _she thought, and frowned as she recalled the last time he'd almost died of blood loss. She had – albeit unwittingly – kind of been responsible for that incident too. _But then again, with a background like his you __have__ to be tough._

She sighed, stretched her sore muscles and considered going to bed. But she didn't really want to leave. Not because Radek needed her in any way, but by sitting here she at least felt like she was doing _something._

He stirred and opened his eyes, squinting up at her. "Dr. Keller, you're still here," he stated and tried to get up.

She gently pushed him back down. "Take it easy."

"I just…"

She understood and rearranged his pillows. "That better?"

"Yes, thank you."

She offered him a sip of water, which he gladly accepted. "Any word?" he asked afterwards.

"No," she answered curtly.

"How long has it been?"

"Ten hours. I don't understand what's taking so long…" Her voice broke and she blinked hard, determined not to cry anymore. Not now.

He looked away for a few minutes, staring at something non-existent at the wall. "I…," he eventually said, "I seem to recall certain personal things being said…"

She smiled mildly and took his left hand in hers. "Don't worry, Radek. That's between you and me." He nodded and looked a little relieved. She continued, "But I'm glad you told me those things. They were wise words. I needed to hear them."

He smiled a little. "So, do you know me now?"

She returned the smile. "Do I?"

He thought about it for a moment. "You know me _better,_" he replied.

"_Dr. Keller?_" a voice over the intercom called. "_Colonel Sheppard and his team have returned._"

She jumped to her feet and pressed the button on the radio. "Is Rodney with them?"

"_Yes, ma'am._"

She exchanged a broad smile with Zelenka, before she hurriedly left the room and ran all the way to the jumper bay. She entered just as Sheppard and his team came down the ramp at the rear of their jumper, and when she spotted Rodney among them, the rest of the world just melted away. She ran towards him and threw herself in his arms.

"Ouch," he muttered as her body slammed into his, but he didn't let go of her. He put his arms around her and gently rocked her.

She looked up and cupped his face in her hands. He looked terrible, bruised and battered, but he was very much alive, and tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she kissed him. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied and draped one arm around her shoulder. "Zelenka?"

"He'll live," she said. "Let's get you down to the infirmary and then you can say hi to him." She looked at Sheppard over Rodney's shoulder. "Thank you."

John grinned. "You'd done most of the work yourselves."

She frowned. "Long story," Rodney said.

* * *

"I can't believe I burnt down the entire forest," Jennifer said as she walked alongside Rodney through the hallways of Atlantis a couple of days later.

"It was not the _entire _forest," Rodney replied. "And besides, except for the Genii bunker it was uninhabited."

"But, still…"

"Hey, try destroying a solar system, _then _we can talk."

She chuckled just as they turned the last corner and entered the mess hall. Richard Woolsey came up to them with a broad smile on his face. "Ah, Doctor McKay," he smiled and gestured towards the grand piano in the front of the room.

Rodney followed his gaze. "You've had it tuned?"

"I have, as a matter of fact, and now we would very much like to hear you play again."

Rodney hesitated. "Well, I don't know…"

Jennifer took his arm. "Oh, come on," she said. "Please. I'd like to hear you."

He looked at her and smiled. "Alright then."

They went over to the piano and found it surrounded by John Sheppard and Nina Dahl, as well as a red-haired woman Jennifer identified as Dr. Sørensen, the Danish linguist. Rodney sent the latter an icy cold glare, which made Jennifer frown. She would have to ask him about that later.

Rodney sat down on the stool and gently swept a finger across the keys. Then he looked over his shoulder and smiled at Jennifer, before he started playing.

He made her proud. It sounded beautifully.

"Well, it certainly sounded better than the last time," Sheppard said when Rodney finished playing.

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad," Sørensen added.

Rodney looked at her as if he didn't quite know how to interpret her words, but just then Zelenka approached them and he turned his attention to him instead. "They let you out," he stated.

"Yes," Radek replied. His arm was in a sling, and he looked curiously at the piano and Rodney.

"So you're finally ready to come back to work?" Rodney continued. "About time. Things are piling up on your desk, you know."

Radek rolled his eyes. "Yes," he said, in a voice heavy with suppressed impatience.

Jennifer smiled mildly. "You have to take it real easy, Radek," she said. "You lost a lot of blood."

"Don't worry, I will," he said with a smile.

"The two of you should play together some time," Dr. Sørensen said. "When your arm is well again, of course," she added with a nod in Zelenka's direction. "Judging by the way you approach your work together, I'd say you are already tuned to each other."

"Hmm," Rodney muttered and exchanged a short gaze with Zelenka. "We'll see…"

"Yes," Radek said. "I'm probably on a higher level than you, and…"

"Oh, you're on!" Rodney interrupted, and everyone around the piano grinned.

"I am _so _gonna be around for that," Nina Dahl said. "Chopin's sonatas for cello and piano as interpreted by Pinky and The Brain." She chuckled, and Rodney sent her a disapproving scowl.

"Hey, be nice," John said to Nina, but he smiled widely as he said it.

"But, come on, _look _at them!" Nina laughed, and waved an arm towards the two scientists.

Jennifer had to chuckle a little herself. With Rodney's bruised face and Radek's broken arm, they did indeed look a little cartoon-ish.

Dr. Sørensen shook her head and left them, and when Jennifer saw the way Radek's eyes followed her all the way out of the room, she had to bite her lip not to say anything.

Radek didn't notice. He turned back towards Rodney. "Rodney, I've been meaning to ask you, that Ancient device the Genii wanted you to work on, did you find out what it was?"

"Oh, _that,_" Rodney snorted, "that was a piece of crap."

Zelenka frowned. "Really?"

"Yes, I believe it was either a heating device or an air conditioner."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "So forty dead Genii for _nothing_?"

"Precisely."

Jennifer turned towards the colonel. "Did you just leave the bodies there?"

"We gave Ladon Radim the coordinates. The Genii can claim the dead if they want to."

"And speaking of radio transmissions," Woolsey said, "we received a heartfelt apology from the Semani."

Rodney gave another snort. "Ha, if they grant me access to their oh-so-holy Ancient outpost, I'll consider accepting that apology."

"I believe we have put enough pressure on the Semani already," Woolsey stated.

Jennifer smiled in agreement and sat down on the stool next to Rodney. She put her chin on his shoulder. "Play some more," she said.

He glanced sideways at her and smiled. "What would you like to hear?"

"Anything," she replied and closed her eyes. "Just anything."


End file.
